


unfinished business

by betamax524



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-17 11:17:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4664577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betamax524/pseuds/betamax524
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So these are some fics that I started really passionately with, but ended up losing steam. I don't want them to rot away in my files, so think of these as extended prompts-- feel free to do whatever you want with these, honestly!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. au where alex is erik's son and everyone has a crush on erik

**Author's Note:**

> in all honesty i'm more of a visual artist so i'm more comfortable with flowery, introspective (and probably pretentious) stories! these are my Attempts at Plot, which i'm sure could be made into really great fics, so knock yourselves out

It's not that Alex is embarrassed by his father, it's just that he seems like a private man, so he only gives out small tidbits of fact to people who ask. His dad's single, works as some sort of lawyer, cooks for the two of them, and occasionally has terse telephone conversations with Emma, Alex's mother. His friends have only seen his father in pictures, thanks to some weird agreement between his parents that it's his mother who comes to school events.

But today, Alex feels a pit of doubt in his stomach as he watches the rain pour outside the classroom window. Classes have been cancelled for this afternoon and the next day, and he's anxiously waiting for the bus to pull up so he can run inside. He feels his phone buzz in his pocket, and fishes it out, brows knotted in confusion, then slowly rising in horror.

"What could he want?" he whispers to himself, before accepting the call.

"Stay in the cafeteria, I'm picking you up today." Erik's voice is clear, with what sounds like rain and the news muffled in the background.

"Uh, yeah, hi to you too dad?" He replies, and cringes when he feels his friends turning to lookat him. "You don't really have to, I mean, I can just take the bus--"

"Nonsense," Erik cuts in, "I don't want you dragging in germs from everyone else. Now stay put."

Before Alex can complain, the line goes silent. "Well shit, man." He mutters, shaking his head and pocketing his phone.

"So, do we finally get to see _The_ Hottest Dad Ever?" Sean teases, his grin taking up almost half his face. "Like, if he looks like a model in photos I feel like we're all gonna go blind when we actually see him, y'know?"

"You're disgusting," Alex huffs, rolling his eyes. "He's just my dad, not some Greek God."

"Yeah, well you see him everyday!" Raven answers, crossing her arms.

Frustrated, Alex buries his head in his hands and mumbles, "Do you guys even have any idea how weird this is for me? He's my dad! He's like... 34 years old!"

"Thirty-four's pretty young," Sean adds, and Alex punches his arm for the retort. "Mr. Xavier's like, 32, and he's still young."

"He doesn't have any kids who have to hear about people crushing on their dad! God, can't you guys give me a break?" Alex yells, failing to notice the cafeteria doors opening, at least, until he follows his friend's gazes.

"Oh... hey, dad." He says sheepishly. It's a good thing he and his friends managed to get the seats closest to the door, because at least Alex can pretend that nobody else is watching. Erik tilts his head and looks him over, and proceeds to shrug out of his coat.

"Put this on. It's like a goddamn warzone out there." He says sternly, handing the coat to Alex. "Get your bag and let's go."


	2. yet Another self-indulgent high school au, but with Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> emma and erik are Best Friends, erik is dating charles, etc. pardon any errors, i found this a notepad file written with no capital letters and Questionable Tenses. i did my best to fix it up, but you never know :'D
> 
> mentions of child abuse/neglect, but nothing Too Intense

Emma turns the key in the lock, Erik wipes his shoes on the mat and his mind wanders. Just how long had he been doing this? He'd been friends-- _best friends?_ \--with Emma since they were children, but it seemed fairly recent that they set up this arrangement. Erik would stay at her house to keep her company until his mother came home.

(They don't really talk about the fact that Emma needs company.)

The house is deafeningly quiet, as usual. Emma sighs and makes her way to her bedroom. Erik walks into the kitchen, opens the fridge and brings out yesterday's bottle of vodka. He grabs two glasses that he and Emma have inevitably claimed as their own, and pours just enough into both. (He can't come home drunk to Mama, he can't disappoint her like that.)

"They won't be home until past 2 a.m. or something, they texted me." Emma announces blankly as she walks over.

"Same old?" Erik snorts derisively. "Same old." she replies quietly, and even though he can't see her, Erik can feel her shoulders slope down in quiet frustration.

(He has no idea, what it's like, to be so alone in a place that was supposed to make you feel loved. Mama was always there for him, just a phone call away when she was at work. but here Emma was, facing another night alone.)

"So, are we gonna watch TV or what?" he asks, to fill the silence. He hears Emma snort, and he turns to face her.

"Of course we are, _asshole_. Let's watch one of those vapid reality shows and make fun of just how fucking unreal they are," she replies, with a smirk. There's still a bit of hurt in her eyes, but he doesn't bother bringing it up.

\---

Halfway through Reality Show Breakdown #3, Emma gives Erik a not-so-gentle shove. "Hey, tell me about you and _Charles_ ," she asks, a devious smirk playing at her lips.

" _No_ , Emma." Erik grits through his teeth.

"you're no fun, you know that, Lehnsherr? i mean, it's so _obvious_ how much you're into him." she replies, emphasizing her last few words with a slap on his thigh. 

"Oh give me a fucking break. I didn't hound you when you were all over Scott Summers, did I?" he growls, pushing up his shades to (hopefully) make a point. Emma only pouts in response and rolls her eyes. Erik sneers back and turns his attention to the television.

They sit there in tense silence until Emma takes another sip of vodka and clears her throat. "... It's because he's _good_ , isn't it?" she says, in a small voice.

"You make me sound like a criminal." Erik replies with a snort, but shifts uneasily at the same time.

"You know its not that," Emma replies, shuffling on the couch. "People like Charles, they have... _plans_. They graduate high school, go to college, get good jobs. They have a future."

"Not like _us_." Erik mutters under his breath.

Emma shakes her head slowly, her eyes focused on her half-empty glass. "Not like us."

Erik sighs. Emma has a point. Just earlier Charles had been worrying about university applications and Erik had nodded and smiled without really listening. he'd been a bit... _out of it_ for the rest of the day. He didn't want to be left behind (G _od_ , he sounded like a child), but he didn't want to hold Charles back at the same time.

He takes another sip. Why does life have to be so complicated?

"He's a lot like you though," he says listlessly, "Told me his mom's a drunk and is usually passed out somewhere."

"So he's usually alone in that... huge place of his? Him and his sister, I mean." Emma replies slowly.

Erik grunts in assent, raising his glass to his lips.

"Then! Maybe we should _visit_ him!" Emma beams, and Erik almost chokes on his vodka in response.

\---

Charles' eyes were such a bright shade of blue Erik could come up with at least 10 ways to describe them. And right now, he was sitting across, blinking said blue eyes in shock. (They're still frustratingly beautiful, Erik snorts at himself. When did he get so _sappy_?)

"Y-you want to visit? _My_ house?" he says slowly, his face slowly growing red. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with it but, are you _sure_?"

"Yeah! Why not," Emma replies, reaching over to cup her hands on top of Charles'. Erik notes that she never gets this close to anyone else, usually. "Besides, it'll be at least three of us coming over so you don't have to worry about _hm_ , explaining anything." she adds with a wink.

Erik rolls his eyes (Thank God he had shades), while Charles just flushes redder in response. He bites his lip and turns to Emma to say something, just as Raven sits down beside him.

"Kurt's out on a business trip, so you guys should ride home with us!" she beams. Charles looked at her in surprise, and she simply flashes another grin in response.

(Kurt? Who was Kurt? Erik suddenly thinks back to that time Charles had a bruise on his cheek. He refused to say anything about it, but he was _sure_ Raven muttered something that sounded close to "Kurt" under her breath.)

"Well... In that case," Charles says, brow furrowed in concentration, "I guess it'll be fine for you guys to come along." he turns to them and offers a small smile.

"Perfect!" Emma says, clapping her hands together. "Oh Charles, this is going to be so much fun--"

"Um, just how do we get there?" Moira interrupts, looking up from her phone, lips pursed tightly together. _Right_. Charles lived in some big ass house that not just anyone could take the bus to.

Erik clicks his tongue in agreement. "She has a point, y'know."

Charles and Raven exchange a glance, and the smile on Charles' face grows slightly wider. "Oh, that's no problem at all."

\---

"A _fucking_ limo." Erik says blankly, only realizing the possible innuendo when Charles coughs discreetly to the side.

" _Ew_ , you're too young for that," Emma snickers, poking him in the ribs. Erik simply sticks his tongue out in response. _Still,_ he has no other way to describe it except for, well, _A Fucking Limo_. he only sees the damned things on TV, and here he iss, standing right in front of one.

A man dressed in a suit ( _Really_ , how much more stereotypical could this get?) comes out of the driver's seat and opens the door for them, gesturing inside. Raven goes in first, plopping herself down on the long seat.

Erik barely registers a tug on his arm, and turns to find Charles holding on to him with a small smile. _Right_. He's sure Emma's smirking at his back, but he decides to ignore that. He gives Charles a small smile in return, and sits down beside him.

(He can hear Emma snickering. He rolls his eyes, and casually yanks her phone out of her pocket when she sits beside him. She turns to him with her eyes wide, and he smiles.)

"Give it _back_ ," she hisses, narrowing her eyes.

"No." he replies smugly, tucking the phone into his pocket. Emma gives an irritated snort, turning to face Moira who was sitting beside her. After a quick glance-over, the man in a suit shuts the door.


	3. steampunk au+trans charles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> steampunk! trains! questionable science behind said trains! trans boy charles!

Charles sighed as he looked out the window. Thanks to his (step)father being out on some other business trip, he had to be the one (as the rightful heir) to check on how the railway system was doing and if everything was operating smoothly. He found the entire idea absolutely bland, and in that moment he was more eager to spend the afternoon revising his thesis than listen to someone drone on about trains and train tracks.

He also wasn't fond of the smell of diesel that hung in the air and the smoke that the trains puffed out as they passed by. Sinking deeper into his seat, he leaned back and closed his eyes. All he had to do was walk around for, perhaps, an hour or so, and he would be free.

*

"Lehnsherr!" Logan called out, "Come here for a minute." Erik gave the schedule one last glance before wiping his forehead with the back of his hand and making his way towards Logan.

"Well, what is it, boss?" Erik said, a smirk playing at his lips.

Logan gave an amused huff as he looked over a letter in his hand. "Well, it's time for the monthly inspection, and since you've pretty much done all your work for this day, I was thinking you would be the one?"

"The one to show the big boss around, you mean." Erik replied.

"Ah, not him, he's out on business, at least that's what this letter says. His stepson will be coming in his place apparently." Logan said, his eyebrows raising. "Huh. The boy hasn't been here since he was 10 I think."

"So is his just as charming as Master Marko is?" Erik asked sarcastically. It was no secret how much he hated Kurt, considering how Brian Xavier had treated Erik's family as close friends, but under Kurt, they were nothing more than laborers.

"Well, like I said, I last saw the kid when he was 10, so I can't vouch for anything." Logan said, shrugging. "Just don't punch him in the face, got it?"

Erik laughed at the idea of him actually _punching_ the Xavier heir. "I'll try," he teased, and made his way back to the office.

*

"We're here, Sir," the chauffer said, jolting Charles out of his thoughts. "Shall I just wait for your return?"

"Ah--uh, yes please." Charles replied, pinching the bridge of his noise and taking a deep breath. The sooner he got this over with, the better.

He gave a quick knock on the door of the office, and fixed his clothes as he waited. The door opened, and Charles took a deep breath and looked up.

_Wait_.

Since when did they hire men his age? Scratch that, good-looking men his age. Really good-looking. Suddenly his chest felt tighter than it usually did.

"Can I help you?" The man asked, his brow furrowed in concern. Charles blinked at least three times before he managed to collect himself.

"Ah, I'm Charles Xavier, and I'm, uh, well..." He stammered. Nice going Xavier, he thought. This was nothing like what he was expecting.

"Charles Xavier... Ah yes, for the inspection, right? I'm sorry, I'm so used to seeing Sir Marko's face that I'm surprised someone like you would be related to him." The man said, chuckling.

"I-I'm sorry?" Charles said, his heart beating fast. He just met this man and yet...

"Well," the man replied, turning around and gesturing for Charles to follow, "Sir Marko looks like... let's say... One of those tempermental adults from Oliver Twist, don't you think?" Charles couldn't help but snicker at that remark. He always thought Kurt looked like a caricature of every angry man that ever existed. "Meanwhile, you're..." the man started, but whatever he was about to say faded away as he opened another door.

But whatever it was, the implications were enough to have Charles discreetly coughing in an attempt to put himself together. God, his life was getting more... _inappropriate_ by the minute. Thankfully Kurt somehow favored him over his own son, which meant that he probably wouldn't be in that much trouble if he was caught sleeping with one of the emplo--

He shook his head. He was getting too ahead of himself, he didn't even know this man's name.

"I'm so sorry," he started, "But I didn't catch your name, mister...?"

"Erik," the man replied, with a smirk. "Erik Lehnsherr." He extended his hand, and Charles' breath caught in his throat before he remembered that, yes, handshakes were a regular thing. Right. He shook the man--Erik's hand, and tried his best not to make anything glaringly obvious. At least, not yet.

As they made their way into the controls room, Charles pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. He had to focus. He couldn't slip up, not at a time like this. He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his heart beat through all the layers he was wearing.

"Sir, are you okay?"

Shit. _Shit_. He was still there. Nice going. What, was this going to be a test of how many times he could embarrass himself in front of a prime specimen of a man?

"Sir, honestly, if you're not feeling well--"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he replied, but a little too quickly apparently, because Erik looked concerned and, oh God, was he coming closer? The next thing he knew, Erik was pressing a hand to his forehead, and then to his neck. He was checking Charles' temperature. Oh God.

"A lot of people say that the control room can get a little... overbearing at times," Erik said, frowning. "And I'm sure you wouldn't be used to it, so, uh, just say if you want the windows opened, okay?" He walked back to the control panels and Charles followed.

"Anyways," Erik said, "Here's where we control the system itself. We input the schedules and check to see that everyone's aware of them. This place can also shut down the whole system, in case of emergencies."

"So it's the heart of the railways?" Charles asked. Erik gave a small smile, running his gloved fingers over the dials.

"You could say that, yes." He whispered. "Ah, hold on, this coat can get in the way sometimes."

Before Charles could say a word, Erik was shrugging off his coat, draping it on the back of a chair. He then started rolling up his shirtsleeves and Charles prayed that he wouldn't faint right there.

"You sure you're okay? You don't look comfortable." Erik asked, reaching for Charles' vest. Instinctively, Charles slapped Erik's hand away and held his arms in front of his chest.

"I-I-I'm _fine_ ," he choked out. He was breathing heavily now. God, he hated how this was literally second nature to him. A quick glance over of Erik's emotions thankfully revealed simple surprise. He took another deep breath.

Erik looked at him for a moment, then smiled. "Were you just in my head?" He asked, innocent and childlike.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, I--"

"It's nothing," Erik said with a wave of his hand, "It's far more comfortable than another telepath I'm friends with. Her touch is cold like ice. Besides, that means I can show you this."

Erik raised his right hand, and with a flick of his wrist, the windows of the room opened. Charles stared in wonder as Erik proceeded to adjust the controls without even touching them. "This here's why I get my work done the fastest," He said, chuckling. "It helps a lot."

"Amazing... Is this... Telekinesis?" Charles asked, his eyes wide with wonder. Erik shook with his head with a smile.

"I manipulate electromagnetic fields, so I also happen to be very aware of metal. For example, you're wearing a golden watch and you have... 3 pennies in your pocket." Erik replied, his smile growing wider.

" _Showoff_ ," Charles huffed, but he smiled all the same.


End file.
